8 Years and Counting...

"You need to pack something to wear to dinner and also pack pajamas." And then he walked out the door. We had planned to have our anniversary dinner that night (Aug. 31) since our actual day would be a late night of work for Brett. So, I knew the dinner was coming....but the suitcase was a huge surprise! Who would keep our children? How did he plan this without me knowing? Where were we going? (Notice the expression of anticipation/shock on Corban's little face)Brett had made plans with our new teachers (Jacque Breuer, Bethany Cannon, and Sarah Hug) to spend the night at our house with our boys. This included feeding them dinner, bathing them, putting them to bed, waking up early with them, and feeding them breakfast....not to mention keeping them from hurting themselves or each other. They did a superb job and I'm not even sure our boys realized we were gone.

So, Brett came back from picking the girls up and we quickly left as the rain began to fall. We made a few stops to get some snack food before arriving at our final destination....Hotel Kara. They have these quaint little bungalows complete with a king bed, our own bathroom, and air conditioning. We ate dinner at the hotel's restaurant and enjoyed the place to ourselves. (For those of you curious...the dinner was mixed salad, lamb, green beans, french fries, bread, and ice cream.) We had hoped to walk around the grounds of the hotel, but the rain kept us in the room. We had brought the laptop and enjoyed watching movies without interruptions from small children. I always forget how different it is to not be listening for various noises throughout the night. It was so nice to wake up on our own this morning rather than by a toddler announcing he needed to use the bathroom. We enjoyed a delicious breakfast (croissants, fresh orange juice, tea, ham and cheese omelets, and pineapple) before heading home where we found 2 little boys excited to have Momma and Daddy home (Caden met us on the sidewalk before we got to the door) and 3 tired, but still happy, young ladies. The report is that the night went well and there were no major problems....just the small ones that come with having two small boys in one room.

To the average reader, this anniversary made seem like nothing special. But when you live in a place where family is not available to keep children, it's difficult to trust your kids to just anyone. Also, options for special are not of wide variety here in Kara. Brett came up with this idea all on his own and it was a first for us and, therefore, very special.Thank you to Jacque, Bethany, and Sarah for staying with my boys all night long. Thank you Brett for a wonderful surprising evening. Thank you Lord for blessing me eight years with a man who loves me dearly and I him.

8 years, 3 continents, and 2 children later...I think we're doing well. Love you, babe.